Time and again, one of the major hermeneutical moves Tom Wright makes is what I will call the ‘both-and’ approach. For instance, on pp. 821ff. we hear that Christ has taken on both the role of Adam in ruling over creation and the role of the Messiah in rescuing God’s people, and in Wright’s view the purpose or mission of Israel to rescue the world. It’s one stop shopping in Jesus. Christ becomes all things to all persons so by... Read more

One of the most crucial sections in Wright’s whole exposition begins on pp.815ff. Here he argues that the purpose for which God had intended Israel was fulfilled in and through Jesus the Messiah. Christ is the place where the God of Abraham and the people of Abraham meet, according to Wright. He is monotheism and election all wrapped up into one person. He will go on to argue that the death of Jesus on the cross brought to fulfillment the... Read more

Beginning on p. 806, Tom discusses the issue of supercessionism (and the charge that his own approach to Paul is supercessionist). For those unfamiliar with this term, it has to do with the notion that the church has replaced Israel as the people of God, or even the church is the current phase of Israel as the people of God. Tom distinguishes three kinds of supercessionism: 1) hard supercessionism; 2) sweeping supercessionism, and 3) Jewish supercessionism. The first sort is... Read more

“http://seedbed.com/feed/acts-15-doesnt-mean-think-means/” title=”Arnold on Acts 15″ Read more

On pages 795-804, Tom begins to make his case that the discussion of God’s righteousness needs to be had in the context of God’s covenant faithfulness, as the two are intertwined. He is well aware that we have difficulties doing justice to the dikaio- word group in English, as it has various nuances that the words righteous/righteousness/justice do not convey in English. In this section Tom draws on his earlier book on Justification. It is also in this context that... Read more

As Tom begins his discussion of election, he freely admits that his view stands more on the salvation history side than on the apocalyptic side when it comes to analyzing how Paul tells the story. Tom is prepared to talk about the fulfillment of the story of Abraham, and indeed of the Abrahamic covenant. He is even prepared to talk about the choosing of Abraham having to do with the undoing of the sin of Adam and its effects, the... Read more

For the record, I know Brownies. I’ve even cheered for the Browns— for eleven years (1984-95) I suffered with their fans, attended games in the Mistake by the Lake, met Bernie Kosar and Ozzie Newsome in a Brown’s chapel service before a game, and in general came to understand the angst of pro football fans in Northeast Ohio. I’ve seen dog pound, disappointment and disaster all play out like Oedipus Rex by the lake. It’s been too long since Cleveland... Read more

For those who were impatient to get to the doctrines of election and salvation and how Paul viewed these matters, we have finally arrived there with the enormous Chapter Ten (pp. 774-1042), which Tom declares one of the central pillars of his whole project. Indeed, one could say this is the linchpin of the whole deal. Tom’s views expressed in this chapter have been heard in bits and pieces before in his earlier work (see for example his book on... Read more